Summer Turkey Meatballs with Angel Hair! Get ready, it’s a keeper.
Today’s Summer Turkey Meatballs with Angel Hair are a tribute to the days spent at the club with my fam, but with the addition of these lightened up summer turkey meatballs that you’ll soon be obsessed with. Promise!
Have I ever told you guys about Italian night at our country club back in Tucson? Long story short, there was Italian night every Thursday at our club and we’d go on the regular because it meant my mom didn’t have to cook dinner, we each got to order whatever we wanted, and someone else did the dishes. It was basically my favorite night of the week and every single week I’d order the exact same thing… angel hair pasta with tons of olive oil, heaps of sautéed garlic and parmesan cheese. That’s it. I LOVED garlic and angel hair and anything else that came with it. It was my go-to for years!
We’re adding these lightened up summer turkey meatballs which I would venture to say will become a staple in your house!! And word to the wise – this recipe calls for ground turkey meat – I usually buy the dark meat because it packs WAY more flavor… but truth be told, you can use any ground turkey meat you prefer. Or ground chicken. Choose your own adventure 🙂
And while I am an equal opportunity carb consumer, and have ZERO problem with angel hair, you can use any style of pasta you prefer for this recipe! Skies the limit.
Summertime Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 pound 85% ground dark meat turkey
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 1/4 cup chives finely chopped
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/4 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the pasta
- 1 lb angel hair
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Transfer the ground turkey to a large bowl, and add in garlic, shallots, chives, parmesan, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Using your hands, incorporate everything together. Make sure everything is evenly incorporated without over mixing the ground turkey.
- Form the mixture into small meatballs, just smaller than a golf ball.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the meatballs and sauté for 3-4 minutes, turning every so often to brown the outside and then continue cooking through for about 6 minutes more. Once the meatballs are cooked, remove them from the oil and repeat the process with the remaining meatballs.
- In a large skillet, heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and saute until they start to fall apart. Add the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and combine all the elements into a summer meatball pasta.
My boys will LOVE these!
This dish looks insane!! I cannot wait to make this! Such a great dinner for any night of the week!
Great riff on your childhood meal! Meatballs with anything works for me!!
Yum! This recipe looks so delicious, definitely going to try this one out for dinner this week, thanks for the share!
This is just so pretty!! That big bowl of deliciousness is everything I want to make for my family for dinner!
Looks fantastic. Can’t wait to try this.It looks like there is some torn basil on the finished dish. How much did you use? Thanks for sharing!
just a handful or so!
This pasta dish looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Hiiiiii there gorgeous! I am a true sucker for meatballs anytime of year, and this dish is no exception. Gotta try it soon!
I wish I could go to Italian night every week!!! This dish looks like an excellent option that’s easy enough to make at home, I guess. Now to find someone to do the dishes…
This looks so amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
Made this last night and it was a HUGE hit with the whole family (two year old included) and our dinner guests! The meatballs are so good and so were the fresh summer tomatoes. Definitely making this again!
Yum! Could we alternatively cook these in the oven do you think?
of course!
oh my goodness! When my tomato plant produces a bunch of cherry tomatoes this will be on the menu!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a pasta girl at heart. All the ingredients are on hand, so we are having this TONIGHT!
Might try it with zucchini zoodles. What do you think?
1000%
Do not hate me but tonight I’m going to sub TJoe’s turkey meatballs but I love this simple recipe. I plan to make a bunch of your meatballs over the weekend and freeze so I have homemade on hand.
Thanks!
you do you girl!!! xo
This dish looks awesome! Just need to know how many servings I might expect.
4-6!
Would they be just as good if I bake the meatballs, if so what temperature and how long m?
they wouldn’t have the same crust but they would still be delish! I haven’t tested it this way, so unsure about timing. I’d bake at 425
Made this tonight and loved the sauce and the flavor of the meatballs. Ours were somewhat dry – what did we do wrong? 🙁
Dark meat
Hi,
I’m going to make this Sunday night and double it, can I make the meatballs ahead of time , refrigerate them and then take them out and bring them to room temperature ? Or should I reheat them in the oven?
make them ahead and store in the fridge and then yes, bring to room temp and cook! xx
Tried it, and loved it! But I was wondering if these could be made in the oven, and if so what would be your suggested oven temp and for how long?
they sure could!! i haven’t made them in the oven yet – I like cooking on the stove top because I think it locks in the flavor with the crust!
If I really dislike sun dried tomatoes, what can I use in place of them?
just omit them – they isn’t a great substitute for this one
I used chopped roasted red peppers – thought it worked great!
Really good!!! How long do I cook meatballs – and do I use the same amount of oil – if I use ground beef?
haven’t tested it with beef, but it’s roughly the same time I would bet
Yum! A great summery pasta dish.
This looks Ah-mazing! Can you make the meatballs without cheese or dairy? I’m kosher so can’t mix meat and dairy but want all the cherry tomato pasta meatball goodness! (Sans dairy) Any tips?
yes, just omit
this was DELICIOUS. Made it last night and was super light and summery. Loved the sauce and the fact that the meatballs kept it light and didnt need breadcrumbs or egg; that said, my meatballs fell apart a little so not sure if it needed something else to bind them better or while shaping them I needed to pack them a little more; but it really didn’t matter because, meatballs. Another winner
This was amazing. Cooked the toms and garlic in the same pan as meatballs once the MBs were mostly done. Added spinach at the end as well. Amazing.
so happy!
Made this for dinner last night and wow! This is absolutely delicious. The ground turkey meatballs are so good, they will be my go to meatball. Thanks Gaby.
Any tips for making this ahead of time?
Could you add squash or zucchini to this pasta as well?
absolutely!
I added zucchini and mushrooms to the pasta (cooked mushrooms first, set aside, then cooked zucchini and added tomatoes about halfway through cooking the zucchini, then added mushrooms back at the end to get the flavors to mix) – it was delicious! Also subbed roasted red peppers for sundried tomatoes as noted above, and flattened the meatballs a bit when cooking in the pan. They cooked more quickly and were more moist that way. Love this recipe!
They all look & sound so yummy.
Love your story! Is there an alternative to using sun dried tomatoes? I think I am allergic to them. I had a terrible reaction after eating a simple pasta dish that included them.
Yes please!!
This needs to be a regular!
This was DELICIOUS!! Fairly easy to make. I could not find ground turkey with the correct fat content. My meatballs were a little dry because of it, but still tasty.
Moist meatballs! I used 97/3 on the Turkey, dropped the sun dried tomatoes and served over cauliflower rice with thinly sliced fennel. The flavors were delish. Definitely a keeper.
So delicious!! However, my meatballs fell apart. Any recommendations?!
light, easy and delicious. we baked the meatballs, wouldve been better as written in recipe but easier for us to throw on a cookie sheet w/ parchment and bake.
Incredible! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Made this last night, and we loved it. Next time gonna use only ½ lb of pasta (just the 2 of us).